Craft punches are popular devices which can be used to create decorative cutouts for projects such as scrapbooks. The vast majority of craft punches work in the same way: the user inserts a sheet of material (typically paper) into a horizontally aligned slot at the base of the punch, and then exerts downward pressure on a button at the top of the punch. The punch is configured such that when the button is fully compressed, a die forming a cutting edge with the desired contour for the cutout is forced through the paper. The punch cuts a hole of the desired contour into the sheet and produces a cutout from the sheet material having the desired contour.
The alignment of the sheet within the craft punch becomes particularly important in applications where the desired end product is the punched sheet rather than the cutouts. Given the significant time spent creating punched sheets, it is critical that misalignment of the sheet not occur on any punch, and particularly on punches occurring near the end of a project, which results in having to start the project afresh. Even where the production of a stack of cutouts is the end goal, proper sheet alignment maximizes the number of cutouts which can be produced from each sheet. While some craft punches are sized or may include structures to assist in punching particular parts of the sheet, the user is otherwise typically left to his or her own devices to properly align the sheet within the punch.
Punches of different sizes and shapes are available to accommodate particular designs. Basic cutout punches, which are primarily used to produce cutouts rather than to punch holes in a particular portion of the sheet of paper fed into the punch, may be shaped in any fashion, and typically are sized to be just larger than the cutout. Corner punches are designed to cut the corner of a sheet to a particular pattern, and are sized to fit the insertion of a corner of a sheet. Border punches, which are primarily used to create holes of a desired shape along the edge of a sheet of paper, usually have shallow slots, so that the sheet will not be pushed far into the punch and the holes will be punched closely along the sheet's edge. Border punches are frequently elongated so that an extended pattern may be formed along the border of the sheet.
The bulk of craft punches are commercially available as independent units and may be purchased and used singly. For example, punches are produced by companies including Uchida of America Corporation of Torrance, Calif.; Fiskars Incorporated of Madison, Wis.; STAMPIN' UP! of Kanab, Southern Utah; and Family Treasures of Valencia, Calif. Thus, users can amass a library of punches for desired designs by purchasing from a variety of manufacturers. Accordingly, punch users avoid compatibility issues which exist with more traditional cutting apparatus such as die cutters, which typically are adaptable to cutting different patterns, but which must use dies of a particular size and/or shape.
For example, the die cutters in U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,587 to Eichenburg et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,748 to Beijen use interchangeable dies, so that by replacing the die used within the die cutter, different patterns may be cut from a sheet. However, the die elements used in the Eichenburg patent must fit within a rectangular receiver element, and must be shaped in the form of a rectangular block of a roughly fixed shape and size. Similarly, the die elements used in the Beijen patent are inserted into a rectangular compartment defined by side walls and two vertically spaced platens, and must be shaped to fit the compartment if the die is not to slide about horizontally during punching. A user of those die cutting machines might be able to locate a die produced by another manufacturer that provides the desired design, but would be unable to use it because the die does not fit correctly within the die cutter.
Craft punch users have also been able to avoid the tedious reassembly required to adapt other die cutters and punching apparatus to punch more than one outline. For example, the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 173,732 to Matthews, U.S. Pat. No. 475,549 to Firnstein, U.S. Pat. No. 685,212 to Knowlton, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,491,464 to Coomer may be adapted to cut varying patterns in sheets or pictures. However, the cutting mechanisms used in each of these apparatus use two elements both of which have identical cutting contours which are pressed together to cut a sheet during use of the apparatus. Each element must be properly fit into the apparatus and aligned precisely for the apparatus to work correctly. Accordingly, the adaptation process required to adjust each apparatus for punching a new outline requires that the user detach both an upper and a lower element from the apparatus, select two new elements to replace the old elements, precisely align the new elements to each other, and fix the elements to the apparatus while preserving that alignment. Such complicated reassembly is laborious even for the sophisticated puncher, and must be done every time the user wishes to change the punch design. For some punchers, such as young children, the complex adaptation process may be beyond their abilities.
Consequently, craft punch users have benefitted from their ability to operate the punches independently from other equipment, both because they have not had to concern themselves with compatibility issues, and because they have not had to spend significant amounts of time readjusting equipment when switching from punching one shape to the next.
A great deal of the charm of punching for the craftsperson is that the craft punches can be used many times (unlike, for example, stickers). Punches are thus cost-effective tools for those who require design items in bulk. Unfortunately, the degree of pressure that a punch user must apply to compress the buttons of craft punches can quickly take a toll. Punching projects often require hundreds or even thousands of cutouts and punched sheets. After such an extended project, the operators of these punches often suffer from pain in their wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints, and may experience repetitive stress injuries and muscle strains or pulls.
The demographics of craft punch use indicate that a large percentage of the users of these punches are either elderly or very young. Children and the elderly, in particular, frequently find it difficult to exert the downward force needed to make punches operate. Those suffering from ailments such as arthritis may soon give up their punching efforts as too difficult and painful.
Furthermore, many craft punches begin to jam after extended use. Frequently, this increases the amount of force necessary to activate the punch to the point where use of the punch becomes nearly impossible. This often leads the user to give up on the punch and discard it.
Punches are especially susceptible to jamming if the force used to compress the punch button is not directly perpendicular to the punch's upper surface. When punching, many users cannot or do not consistently apply this perpendicular force to the punch button, and thereby increase the likelihood that the punch will jam. Additionally, users who try to apply force perpendicular to the punch button properly during every use are likely to strain or injure themselves, as the user must maintain a uniform posture of the hand and wrist for each punch, stressing the same points of the body with every punch.
It is an object of the current invention to provide a device which will assist a user in activating a punch using indirect force so that the punch may be used without stress or injury to the user.
Another object of the current invention is to provide a punch activating apparatus which is quickly and simply adaptable for compatibility with a wide variety of punches.
It is a further object of the current invention to provide an alignment guide to assist the punch user in accurate punching.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the punch activating apparatus of the present invention is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, specification, and claims.